L-R: Head of Lagos Office Netherlands Embassy, Michael Deelen; Drirector, Agra Innovative Programme /Managing Director Contact Consulting, Mrs. Folusho Olaniyan; Ekiti State Governor/Special Guest of Honour, Dr Kayode Fayemi and His wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; during the Agra Innovative Agric Exhibition at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos….on Wednesday.
Governor
Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State Wednesday said that the 2016 recession
has exposed the vulnerability of the Nigerian economy to both
internal and external shocks; saying that the nation is at a point
where it can no longer pay lip service to economic diversification.
Speaking
in Lagos at the Agra Innovate Agric Expo, the Governor stated that
Nigeria must strengthen new frontiers sectors to contribute to her
economic stability and prosperity in view of “the exploding
population growth that is disproportionate to our economic growth
prospects”.
Dr
Fayemi who noted that the population growth has left the country with
the rattling challenge of high rate of unemployment opined that
efforts of critical stakeholders at the agric expo would align with
the efforts of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to
fast-track rapid economic development in the country.
He
urged Nigerians to embrace the “new thinking championed by the
Federal Government that prescribes a fundamental shift from focus on
government to drive agribusiness to a private sector -led
agribusiness sector value chain development model”.
“The
structure of our economy has remained highly undiversified, import
dependent, and consumption driven. As at today, crude oil still
accounts for about 90% of revenue from exports and foreign exchange
earnings. Decades of consumption and high oil price-driven growth
have led to an economy with a positive but jobless growth trajectory,
while the agricultural and manufacturing sectors which account for
less than 20% of total exports have declined drastically”, he said.
Dr
Fayemi who spoke on “Food Security: The role of finance in the
creation of commercial opportunities for agricultural value chain
stakeholder operations” asserted that no State in Nigeria has the
capacity to finance modern agro-business models from regular
budgetary provisions hence the need for creativity in tackling the
issue.
The
governor who noted that lack of finance has remained one of the key
factors accounting for the sub-optimal performance of the agric
sector stated that without adequate finance, “the much hyped
potential of agriculture to drive our economy would remain a mirage”.
Fayemi
stressed that agriculture remains one of the cardinal focal areas of
his administration because of the belief that the future of Nigeria
lies in agriculture, even as his administration intends to partner
with relevant stakeholders to bring back “the good old days
enjoyed” during his first tenure.
“In
demonstration of my unalloyed belief in the power of agriculture as a
catalyst for youth development, I established Youth Commercial
Agriculture Development (YCAD) programme in my first term in office
which has since remained part of our success story. We are determined
to strengthen this in collaboration with major industry players and
the federal government with a view to engaging more youths”, Fayemi
said.
Also
speaking at the forum, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria, Sarah Alade, lamented that the nation’s N22 billion
import bill saying that agriculture is the way to go in order to grow
the nation’s economy.
She
added that governments at all levels must be proactive so that
Nigeria can make the best out of the entire agric value chain.
In
his remarks, Michel Deelen, Deputy Head of Netherland Mission in
Nigeria urged Nigerian youths to make use of the opportunities which
the agric value chains have to offer rather than come to Lagos to
seek white collar jobs.
He
added that Nigeria could generate revenue from the agric sector if
the country sees the sector as an investment rather than a means to
feed itself.
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